Time Management For System Administrators

Instructor: Tom Limoncelli With material from: Time Management for Sysadmins http://www.EverythingSysadmin.com
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Who is this guy?

SA since 1988, UNIX since 1991 Has worked at companies such as Google, Cibernet Corp, Dean For America, Lumeta, Bell Labs, AT&T/Lucent, Mentor Graphics. Books:
Time Management for System Administrators The Practice of System and Network Administration

Not (unreasonably) crazy

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Meeting with My Boss

Poll: Rate your current TM skills?

0 = disaster 5 = expert

Poll: What are your time management issues?

Why TM for Sysadmins?

The problems are different
Higher degree of customer interruptions ...and still expected to get projects done...

The solutions are different

Were geeks, we can use tools

Lack of mentoring
Other careers have more opportunities for mentoring on these issues. Our mentoring is technical
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Whats covered?
Dealing with Interruptions Using Routines to think once, do many The Cycle System for:
Todo lists Calendar/datebook management Long-term and life goals

Prioritization Q&A and other tips

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Whats not?
Tips on avoiding Procrastination
Excellent books on the market Therapy can help David Burn's "Feeling Good" has excellent advice

Detailed instructions on how to use a PDA NTP: The Network Time Protocol

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Get control over your life

1. Schedule your work 2. Prioritize what you do 3. Control the hours you work Impossible? No, completely possible.

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Principles of Time Management

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Principles
One System: Keep all time-management
information in once place

Conserve Brain Power: Avoid distractions,

focus on one thing at a time

Use Routines: Mass-produce things that you

do often. Think once, do many

Same tools everywhere: Use the same

tools for your personal-life
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Maintaining Focus

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Focus

How long does it take to complete a 2-day project?

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Focus
Focus is concentrated effort. Users always bother me == Im being prevented from maintaining focus Interruptions are the natural enemy of focus. Returning from an interrupt is error-prone.

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The uncluttered brain

Our brain is only so big. It divides itself among all the things we are trying to focus on. Unclutter your brain.

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Focus problems we cause

A messy desk Visually complex items in front of us Icons on our desktop, Instant messenger clients, music, stock tickers, news tickers, you have new mail notifiers, games, multitasking overload. Clean up your workspace -- Free your mind!
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Redirecting Interrupts
If someone wanted to interrupt you to ask a question, how do they find you? Does their web browser start-page tell them how to reach the helpdesk? Are proper channels properly clearly communicated? Can you re-arrange seating so they walk by your co-workers before they reach you?
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Mutual Interruption Shield

Take turns fielding interruptions with a coworker to permit uninterrupted project time You field interrupts in the AM, they do it for you in the PM.

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Change Official Structure

Split into a tier 1 / tier 2 structure
Tier 1 -- Customer facing
Handles 80%, bumps 20% up to tier 2

Tier 2 -- Project & Engineering

Physical layout:
Make sure customers must trip over customer facing people to get to Tier 2. Move Tier 1 offices to high-traffic areas keep Tier 2 relatively obscured
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Peak time for focus

When during the day can you focus best?
Different for each of us. Do you know your peak hours?

First hour of the day-Rule

The fewest interruptions happen the first hour of the day because nobody else Therefore, dont use it for junk tasks like email.
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Handling Interrupts without being a JERK

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Principle

Saying no or not now

When someone makes a request, they expect to be heard. Corollary: They will be unhappy if they dont feel heard.

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Saying no with compassion

How to say no without sounding rude?
Take the customers needs into account Say with action (not words) that the request will be completed

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For each request

Pick one: Record it Delegate it Do it

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When to record it?

Im in the middle of another project Not urgent Not a while you wait request

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When to delegate?

Someone else can do it Too urgent to put off

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When to do it?

Emergency -- outage effecting multiple people. Its my job to react in this situation. Requests from my boss.

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Tips for recording requests:

Three options: (of many) Create a ticket Write in your Palm/Dayplanner Have them create the ticket -- tell them the words to use

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Helpdesk Software
Always use ticket-tracking software.
If your employer doesnt use one, be the innovator that sets up such a system.

Excellent free software is available, much of it is better than commercial products (Unless you are very, very big)
RT (Request Tracker): BestPractical.com Trac: trac.edgewall.org
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Helpdesk Software (2)

Without software
Requests get lost Management cant track progress Customers cant track issues Customers cant refer to a ticket number

With software
Requests get tracked, not lost. Users know status of issues. Manager can track issues without bothering SAs Claims of I asked for this months ago verified
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Request Tracker (RT)

http://www.bestpractical.com/rt/ Free software... support contracts available.
Help support the software by purchasing a support contract.

RT Essentials (book) from OReilly

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Routines

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Get into that old, boring routine!

I wish I never woke up this morning Life was easy when it was boring. Darkness, The Police

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Turn chaos into routines

Schedule key meetings the same time(s) each week Gasoline on Sunday Empty water from A/C reservoir as you enter the building.

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Developing your routines

Repeated events that arent scheduled When procrastinating takes longer than the task itself Things you forget often Low-priority tasks that can be skipped now and then but shouldnt be Maintenance tasks: IT is like gardening Relationship development
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Good habits save time

Hesitate before pressing ENTER. Write the test before the code. ping before and after disconnecting any cable. Always backup a file before it is edited. Check for keys before leaving car, house, office, secured area, etc.

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Automatic Yes Answers

Would this be a good time to save my work? Should I bring my PDA/PAA with me? Should I record this task/event/date in my PDA/PAA? Should I call now that Im going to be late?

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The Cycle System

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The Cycle combines

Maintaining a Todo list
Perfect follow-though / Never forget a task

A Datebook/Calendar
Track appointments, commitments, events

Long-term and Life Goals

Get where you want to go

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Task management (todo lists)

or Perfect Follow-Through Goal: Never forget a user's request

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The Todo List

How do you remember user requests?

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Zillions of Scattered Notes vs. The Never-Ending List of Dooooooom

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Why do todo lists fail?

We rely on known-faulty hardware
(Our brain forgets)

We dont keep them all in one place

Many scattered pieces of paper

We keep many lists

Half are out of date

We keep one master list

Too big, too scary The Never-Ending Todo List Of Dooooooom!
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How to make todo lists work?

One to-do list per day Kept in a single place With you all the time Easy to access

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Which is better?
PDA
+ Alarms & Beeps + Integrates w/ PIM + Easy backups + Easy to carry

Planner
+ Free-form + Spontaneous + Make your ownsystem + Theft is rare

Pros:

Cons:

- Not as spontaneous - Many distractions - No backups - Inflexible - Refills every year - Upgrades $$$
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Anatomy of a Planner
Front Pocket Lost + Found info Month-view Calendar Page Per Day Sheets Info Sheets section A-Z sections Big enough to fit a folder, or small enough to fit a 8.5x11 sheet folded in half.
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Getting the most out of a Palm Pilot

The PalmOS Todo function is very simplistic. The techniques in this class are more easily done with added Palm software:
DateBook V (www.pimlicosoftware.com) Life Balance (www.llamagraphics.com) FranklinCovey software for Palm

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Managing Tasks

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Left Side
One page per day
Pre-printed with dates

Daily Task List

Status, ABC, Task

Appointment Schedule

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Right Side
Record of Events Wide-open space for
notes, ideas, diagrams special check-lists Things to pack lists What to bring lists

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Exercise: Todo Items

Add these 6 items to your Daily Tasks area
Create account for new user Bob Test new GCC File bug report: netscan off-by-1 error JP: demo of new VPN system? Add web page: new support hours Cricket: monitor new router
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Toms Item Marking System

X NO Done Moved to future day Decided not to do it, record why & who told Delegated, record to whom

<May 14> More info on May 14s page FranklinCovey uses a different notation and thats ok
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Exercise: Manage Todo Items

1. Mark 1st item: Done 2. Mark 2nd item: Moved to next day (just didnt get it finished) 3. Mark 3rd item: Done 4. Mark 4th item: Moved 2 days (Hes on vacation)

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First sheet should look like:

X X

AB C

Prioritized Daily Task List Create account for new user Bob Test new GCC Report bug: netscan off-by-1 error Call JP: demo of new VPN product Add web page: new support hours Cricket: monitor new router
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End of day: 2 items left!

X X

AB C

Prioritized Daily Task List Create account for new user Bob Test new GCC Report bug: netscan off-by-1 error Call JP: demo of new VPN product Add web page: new support hours Cricket: monitor new router
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Move last 2 items

X X

AB C

Prioritized Daily Task List Create account for new user Bob Test new GCC Report bug: netscan off-by-1 error Call JP: demo of new VPN product Add web page: new support hours Cricket: monitor new router
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Leave work with a smile

Clear your todo list at the end of the day by moving & marking. Leave knowing youve managed all items. Benefit of paper planner: Physical effort to move items an incentive to get them done.

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Calendar Management
Goal: Never miss an appointment, meeting, or social event

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Write down appointments, dates, events, etc.

1 place for all calendar info, including social events. Review at the start of the day, through out the day, and before you go to sleep.

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How I mark calendar days

Top line: Birthdays days, scheduled vacations (for me and others) Middle: appointments throughout the day Bottom line: night activity (Date with Chris, Board Meeting, Laundry)

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Chris bday Bob out until 30th

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10-11 cm meeting noon all hands 2-2:30 mtg w/CIO group

7pm BZ board mtg

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Priorities
Goal: Get the important stuff done, let everything else slide.

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Priorities
Mark every todo item with an A, B, or C priority A -- Must be done today (due date is today) B -- Today, lower priority C -- Everything else!

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The Daily Plan

Review calendar entries
Block out time for meetings, events

Enter repeating items Plan your todo items:

Mark A, B, and C priorities Write in estimated time for each item

Total A Time -- Is it more than an 8-hour day?

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Not enough time for A priorities?

Break projects into steps
List time for todays step Add this item to each days todo list

Re-prioritize Ask boss for advice

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Exercise: Plan This Day

First, schedule todays appointments: Todays calendar:
10-11am weekly staff meeting noon-1 lunch 3-4pm Change Management Review Board Meeting

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8 9 10 11 noon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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MEETING LUNCH

CMRB

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8 9 10 11 noon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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Plan my day

MEETING LUNCH

CMRB Go home!

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Plan this day (2)

Todays todo items:
(old) Test GCC: 40 minutes (old) Add new web page: 20 minutes (old) Add router to Cricket config: 30 minutes Fix netnews: 45 minutes Add disk to server: 2 hours Set up new IDS system: 3 days (next step is 60 min) Install phone for new-hire (starts next month): 1 hour
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Plan
AB C A A B C A A Prioritized Daily Task List Test new GCC (40 min) Add new web page (20 min) Add router to Cricket (30 min) Fix netnews (45 min) Add disk (2 hours) Setup IDS (3 days) Phone for new-hire (1 hour)
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Plan
AB C A A B C A A C Prioritized Daily Task List Test new GCC (40 min) Add new web page (20 min) Add router to Cricket (30 min) Fix netnews (45 min) Add disk (2 hours) Setup IDS (3 days) Phone for new-hire (1 hour)
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Plan the tasks

Fit the todo items into your day

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Plan
AB C A A

Prioritized Daily Task List Test new GCC (40 min) Add new web page (20 min) Add router to Cricket (30 min) Fix netnews (45 min) Add disk (2 hours) Setup IDS (3 days) Phone for new-hire (1 hour)
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B C A A

Exercise results:

What did your day look like? Did your day plan exceed 8 hours?
How did you manage the overage?

How many items were moved to the next day?

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Early and Late

Finish a task early?
Reward yourself by working on
A fun project A low priority project Coffee break!

Task take longer than planned?

Re-schedule, re-plan B and C priorities can be completed later
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Tip: How do you split your time?

A sysadmin was directed to split your time evenly between helpdesk and projects. When he planned his day, he added a todo item called interrupts which was always 50% of his time. 3 hours -- Interrupts

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Repeated Tasks

PDA: Used repeated tasks. Planner: Use info page to list repeating events (daily/weekly/monthly lists). Copy items in at the start of each day, week, month.

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Principle

If it has to be done every day, do it first.

Corollary: If it has to be done today, do it early.

Anecdote: Changing backup tapes.

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Principle

Start Every Day By Planning

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Tip: Schedule fun things too

One unified calendar -- include social plans Plan a date night or family night Only use a second calendar if you have a classified work-life

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Life Goals
Get what you want out of life!

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Rocks, pebbles and sand

If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same is true for your life: If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important in life.
http://www.juliaferguson.com/cool.html

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Make time for the big things

When do we have time for big things?
Taking a long vacation A week writing code to save months of labor A Google 20% project

Answer: Never!

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So what do we do?
We make time. We schedule the vacation a far in advance. Weeks before we...
Train the person that covers for us. Update documentation etc.

Other big projects require the same.

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Life goals:
Goals should be measurable: Lose 20 pounds by January, not Lose weight Dont be afraid to dream What do you want to accomplish
1 month from now? 1 year from now? 5 years from now? In your lifetime?
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Exercise: Life goals

Spend 5 minutes writing down your 1m, 1y, 5y, life goals. Write 1-2 per category (1 work, 1 personal) Nobody will be seeing these, feel free to write the secret goal that you may be embarrassed to share.

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Actions to achieve goals:

Category: 1 Month 1 Year 5 Years Lifetime Goal: Actions:

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Goal-planning is a lifetime task

Keep your list in your planner Add new ideas when you think of them Review it periodically This 5 minute exercise wasnt enough time
Week-long workshops, weekend retreats, family discussions, etc
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Routine: 1st day of month

Re-read list of goals (keep copy in dayplanner) Sprinkle action items into your schedule that bring you closer to these goals. PAA: Do it when you load the next month of paper into your organizer PDA: Schedule a recurring event called Monthly Goal Review
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Yearly: Review and revise goal list

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Prioritization

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Whats so bad about FIFO?

Distraught over what order to do tasks on your todo list? Whats so bad about FIFO? Benefit:
its easy older items tend to bubble up to the top and get higher priority sounds great!
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Prioritize based on customer perception

Prioritizing tasks so that users think you're a genius

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What do customers expect?

They want everything NOW but what do they expect? Some requests should be quick
Assigning an IP address Reset a password Something small impeding their work

Some requests take a long time

Installing a new PC Creating a new service

SAs will drop everything for major outages

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FIFO Prioritization
Task T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 Description Reset password Create new user account Install new server Add new CGI area to web server Order a software package Debug minor NetNews error Allocate IP address Expectation Actual Work 1 minute Next day Next day 1 hour 1 hour 10 min 2 min 10 minutes 20 minutes 4 hours (+1 for lunch) 30 minutes 1 hour 25 minutes 5 minutes Time Completed 9:10am 9:30am 2:30pm 3:00pm 4:00pm 4:25pm 4:30pm

T1 T2

T3

Result:

All tasks completed T7 very unhappy

T4 T5 T6 T7
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Task T1 T7 T5 T4 T2 T3 T6

Description Reset password

Expectation-based Priority T1 T7
Expectation Actual Work 1 minute 2 min 1 hour 1 hour Next day Next day 10 min 10 minutes 5 minutes 1 hour 30 minutes 20 minutes 4 hours (+1 for lunch) 25 minutes Time Completed 9:10am 9:15am 10:15am 10:45am 11:05am 4:05pm 4:30pm

Allocate IP address Order a software package Add new CGI area to web server Create new user account Install new server Debug minor NetNews error

T5 T4 T2

Result:

T3

All tasks completed Much happiness

T6
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Summary
In both cases: All tasks completed (You did the same amount of work) In second case: Customers much happier You did the same amount of work, but people were happier with your performance

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A More Realistic Situation

Usually one can not plan entire day New requests spread over day We can still use this technique:
No matter what, permit the interruption Use expectation model to decide if request is done now or is put on hold.
If it takes less than 2 minutes, its just faster to do it now. If expectation is it cant wait, do it now. Else... create ticket/send email to yourself.
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Be creative
Pre-allocate your next 2-3 IP addresses Keep common sysadmin apps running Automate, automate, automate Create self-service versions:
sudo shell scripts that check inputs do request CGI scripts that check input then sudo (Note: Such scripts may result in security holes. Validate inputs, and be paranoid.)
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Two or more sysadmins

A two-person team can use this technique to organize their work:
One person handles interrupts in the AM The other handles interrupts in the PM

Larger groups can structure their organization around this concept:

Divide day into n even blocks Each SA takes interrupts during their block
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Organizing a Large IT Group

Organize team into Tier 1 (front line) and Tier 2 (back line) Tier 1
Initial contact for customers Passes long-term or difficult requests to Tier 2

Tier 2
Handles issues from Tier 1 Otherwise is project-focused
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The Cycle Summary

5 minutes each morning: Build a todo list
List relevant life goals/long-term goals
(from our long-term list)

Block out todays meetings/appointments

(from our calendar)

List the todo items for the day

(from our todo list)

Prioritize Work the list At the end of the day:

Push unfinished items to the next day
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Cycle Tips
Always bring your PDA/PAA with you. Always record things in your PDA/PAA or HelpDesk software Work from the todo list. Bring it! Record it! Work from it!

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Thats the Cycle!

Questions?

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What do we do?

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Everything we do:
Simple things, done once Hard things, done once Simple things, done often Hard things, done often

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Rarely

Easy

Hard

Often
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Rarely

Manually Easy Hard

Often
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Rarely

Document Easy Hard

Often
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Rarely

Easy Automate

Hard

Often
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Rarely

Easy Purchase

Hard

Often
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Rarely

Manually Easy Automate

Document Hard Purchase

Often
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REVIEW:
Work from a todo list
Start a new list each day. One place, kept with you always. Record ALL tasks. A/B priorities, X=done, -=moved

Live by your calendar (work & social) Start each day by planning:
Record scheduled appointments A/B/C priorities, client perception first Plan your day, then work the plan
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Time Management For System Administrators

Instructor: Tom Limoncelli With material from: Time Management for Sysadmins http://www.EverythingSysadmin.com
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